Democrats should fight for jobs programs and pay equity for women, not fight to cut Social Security. Democrats should realize that when the winds of national opinion are at our back, it is folly to sail against these winds and disaster to downsize the legacy of our party.

It's all Kabuki theater to cover up the truth that President Obama made a backroom deal with the for-profit hospital industry that the final health care bill would not include a national public option.

I've introduced H.R. 4789, the Public Option Act. This simple four-page bill lets any American buy into Medicare at cost. You want it, you pay for it, you're in. It adds nothing to the deficit; you pay what it costs.

The real reason Obama's health care plan doesn't include a public option is that he made a backroom deal last summer with the for-profit hospital industry that there would be no meaningful public option.

The Bank of Canada was created to end the hardships of the depression and give the government responsibility for the health of the economy. As it turned out, the Bank funded the health of the Canadian people.